Russia Needs More 'Real Communists,' Who Push Revolution: Former Ambassador

A former U.S. ambassador to Russia suggested on Tuesday that the country could use "more real communists" to help push against its wealthy rulers.

Michael McFaul rose from working as an expert on Russian and Eurasian affairs in the U.S. National Security Council to serving as the country's ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. During that time, he helped craft major aspects of former President Barack Obama's Russia policies.

On Tuesday, he shared a tweet from Maria Pevchikh, a Russian investigative journalist and activist, in which she highlighted a recent public appearance by Dmitry Peskov, press secretary for the Russian government. In a series of photos, Pevchikh highlighted how Peskov displayed a subtle sign of massive wealth at a time of great economic instability for his country, and how someone else tried to cover it up.

"Here's another story that drives me crazy," Pevchikhw wrote, as translated from Russian by Google. "Peskov with a microphone makes a toast, he is photographed. A watch [worth] 6 million is clearly visible on his hand. The Deputy Minister of Defense notices this and carefully covers his wrist with a cuff.

"It's fun for them! In a poor country, the press secretary of the president has a collection of watches worth the cost of an apartment entrance. And they don't see any problem here. And if anything, one billionaire (deputy minister of defense) will carefully cover the wrist of another billionaire (Putin's press secretary)."

Responding to Pevchikh's tweet, McFaul expressed frustration at Peskov's display and wondered why more Russians are not acting out against the vast wealth of their leaders.

"Putin's aide, Peskov, is wearing a $6 million watch!" McFaul tweeted. "Who does that? & Why dont Russians get more pissed off about this? Sometimes, I wish there were more real communists in Russia, pushing for a class-based revolution against this corrupt [ancient] regime."

Russia is approaching the one-year anniversary of President Vladimir Putin's beleaguered invasion of Ukraine, which began in late February and has had a disastrous impact on the country's economy. In response to the aggression, foreign nations, including the U.S., imposed historic sanctions on Russia and all but completely ceased importing Russian oil, one of the country's leading economic drivers. A string of major overseas companies has also ceased doing business in Russia, including tech giants like Apple and Amazon, and fast food staples like McDonald's and Starbucks.

A report from the Wilson Center stated that the Russian economy will only continue its worsening recession heading into 2023, and guessed that the nation's people are "starting to suspect that the war is eating away at their well-being."

Newsweek reached out to Russian officials for comment.